Scaffolding collapse companies fined
A scaffolding collapsed in Birmingham city centre sees two companies prosecuted - 16th March 2009
Following an incident on the 13th December 2006 when
scaffolding collapsed in Birmingham city centre two
companies have been prosecuted.
The scaffolding which was up to 50ft high and 100ft
along a building collapsed across Needless Alley,
which at the time was accessible for pedestrians,
but luckily none were injured, or worse killed by
the accident.
Had workers been using the scaffold at the time they
would almost certainly have been
injured in falls from height and
hit by falling scaffold,
which could have caused very serious injury or even
deaths.
SGB Services Ltd, of Leatherhead in Surrey, pleaded
guilty at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Friday
13th March 2009 to a breach of Regulation 8(b) of
the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was
charged with not ensuring that the working platforms
that they installed were erected to ensure that
components did not become accidentally displaced so
as to endanger workers or passers-by. They were
fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 costs.
John Davies Interiors Ltd, of Century House Oldbury,
pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 12(4) of the
Work at Height Regulations 2005 at the same hearing.
They admitted failing to ensure that the working
platforms were not used as they had not been
inspected within the previous seven days. They were
fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,996 costs.
Mike Ford, a Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector said: "The
incident placed pedestrians and workers at risk
because the two companies had failed to provide a
scaffold that was suitably tied to the building and
failed to ensure that the scaffold was inspected
regularly after the erection.
"All employers have a responsibility to ensure that
safe working practices
are in place, because failure to do so could well
cost lives as well as enforcement action from HSE.
It is extremely fortunate that nobody was injured,
as CCTV footage of pedestrians passing within
seconds of the collapse clearly demonstrates, it
could have been so much worse.
"Anyone attempting to work on that scaffolding would
have been at high risk.
Falls from height at work resulted in 45 deaths
last year, of which 23 were in the construction
industry. In addition, 3,750 workers were
seriously
injured after falling from height and 3,409 of
those were employed in the construction sector."
